Machine for operating upon boots and shoes.



C. E. GRAHAM.

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.7, 1909.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. GRAHAM, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERS'ON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

Application filed December 7, 1909. Serial No. 531,891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Operating Upon Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon boots and shoes and more particularly to butling machines utilizing a removable pad of abrasive material for operating upon the bottoms of boots andshoes.

The object of the invention is to improve machines of the class described.

In the manufacture of boots and shoes it is customary to smooth or buff the bottoms of the soles by means of a butting machine having a pad of sandpaper, emery paper or like abrasive material aflixed to the end of a rapidly rotating spindle. Such abrasive pads wear out quickly and must be frequently renewed by the operator. To eficct the renewal of these pads, the operator ordinarily disconnects the driving-power from the bufiing machine, waits for the entire driven mechanism to come to a standstill, then removes the worn out pad, atfixes a new one, throws on the power and waits until the machine has attained its working velocity of approximately 5000 revolutions per minute before the bufling can be continued. The operation just described consumes a considerable amount of time. When the bufling machine includes several moving parts, as is usual, such as a blower, a brush, etc, in addition to the driving shaft and the abrasive pad spindle, the mechanism requires extra time to slow down and to be specded up, and this loss of time and of work while changing pads becomes a matter of importance.

It is an object of this invention .to provide a device which will be economical to construct, simple and easy to operate and which will enable the operator to stop the pad without disconnecting the power from the bufiing machine or stopping the rest of the mechanism.

An important advantage of the invention is that it may be applied to existing butting machines, since no changes in the working parts of the machines are necessary.

In the preferred embodiment of the in vention as herein shown, means is provided to clamp and to hold the pad spindle sta tionary, while the rest of the mechanism of the .bufling machine continues running. Said clamping means may be arranged so as to be actuated by the partial turn of a lever within convenient reach of the operator, and preferably is of such efficiency as to enable the operator to stop the spindle almost instantly. A reverse movement of the lever releases the clamping action of the device and thereupon the spindle and pad very quickly assume the working velocity since the other moving parts of the bufling machine have maintained their normal speed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a View in perspective of a portion of a bufifing machine comprising the pad holding spindle and adjacent parts.

Fig. 2 is .a plan view of the clamping means provided to hold the spindle from rotation.

The numeral 1 designates a portion of the frame of a usual type of buifing machine, said frame having formed thereon suitable split brackets 2 and 3 which serve as bearings for a rotatable spindle 5. A suction pipe which is attached to or integral with the frame 1 is indicated at 4. The spindle 5 may be rota-ted by means of a pulley 7 keyed or otherwise aflixed thereto, said pulley being actuated by means of a belt 8 which is usually led over suitable idlers (not shown) to the main driving shaft (not shown) which is conveniently located in the lower part of the machine and connected with the other moving parts of the machine, such as the blower, brush, etc.

The spindle 5 is preferably formed in two sections, the lower section 9 being attached to the upper section 5 by means of a screw threaded connection, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The lower section 9 is arranged to carry the pad holding device which comprises a metal core 12, a backing 13 of felt or the like yielding material, and a headed or flanged screw 15. The screw 15 (shown in dotted lines) is arranged to be threaded into the lower end of the section 9, passing through suitable central apertures in the parts 12 and 13. The

inclined or beveled contact faces indicated at 14, between the core 12 and the lower section 9 of the spindle serve to center the pad holding device upon the spindle when the screw 15 is threaded into the end of the section 9, and tightened.

The machine so far described is old and well-known in the art.

l/Vhen the machine which has been described above was running at its customary operative speed, the pulley 7, spindle sections 5 and 9 and the pad holding devices 12, 13 and 15 and the abrasive pad (not shown) upon the bottom face of the backing 13 were all rotated at high speed, appioxiciatelv five thousand revolutions per minute. lVhen the abrasive pad became worn out and had to be renewed, which occurred frequently, it was necessary heretofore to disconnect the power from the entire machine, wait until all the various moving parts of the mechanism came to a standstill and then the operator would grasp the parts 12 and 13, rotate them to back off the screw 15 until it was disconnected from the lower section 9 of the spindle, whereupon the worn-out abrasive pad could be easily removed, a new one affixed and the parts reassembled. Power was then applied to the machine and when the spindle had attained its working speed, the buffing operation could be continued upon it.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings as applied to a usual type of existing buffing machines a clamping de vice is disposed about the lower section 9 of the spindle, and is secured to the frame 1 by means of the threaded bolt 17. The bolt 17 is passed through a portion of one clamping member and screwed into a suitably tapped aperture in the frame. The clamping device preferably comprises two members 18 and 19, hinged on a pin 20 as will be readily understood by reference to the drawings. The clamping members 18 and 19 have suitably concaved portions to bear upon the section 9 of the spindle and act as a brake thereon when said members are clamped together. To effect the clamp i'ng action of the members 18 and 19, a bolt 21 is provided which has an enlarged por tion 22 bearing upon the member 19, and a reduced portion passing loosely through a hole in the member 19 and engaging a threaded bore in the member 18 as illustrated in Fig. 2. A. handle 23, secured to the enlarged end portion 22 of the bolt, as by a set screw 24:, furnishes a convenient means for the operator to rotate the bolt 21 to draw the open ends of the clamping members 18 and 19 together, thereby frictionally binding or clamping the section 9 of the spindle. Appropriate actuation of the handle 23 by the operator brings the spindle and pad to a stop permitting the rest of the machine to continue running at its ordinary speed while the operator renews the butfing pad, the belt 8 meanwhile slipping upon the pulley 7. As soon as the new pad is affixed the operator moves the handle 23 to release the clamping effect of the members 18 and 19 upon the section 9 of the spindle, and the spindle quickly regains its working speed.

Preferably the members 18 and 19 are so united by the pin 20 that they will normally tend to spring open at their free ends where the bolt 21 unites said ends. The frictional engagement of the threaded connection between the bolt 21 and the member 18 is suflicient to maintain the clamping members 18 and 19 in the desired degree of tension upon the spindle 9. Hence the op erator, after having manipulated the handle 23 to cause the clamping members 18 and 19 to stop the spindle, will have both hands free to renew the abrasive pad.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine of the class described, a bufling pad, a rotatable spindle upon which said pad is mounted, a pulley fast to said spindle, a moving belt drawn tightly about said pulley to rotate it, a clamp fast to the frame of the machine and having operative portions embracing said spindle, and actuating means under the control of the op erator for causing said clamp to frictionally engage said spindle and to thereby stop the pulley by overcoming the frictional engage-- ment between the belt and pulley, said belt exerting at all times a constant force tending to rotate said pulley whereby rotation of said pulley at normal velocity takes place immediately upon release of said clamp.

2. In a machine of the class described, a bufling pad, a rotatable spindle upon the lower end of which said pad is mounted, a pulley fast to said spindle, a moving belt drawn at all times tightly about said pulley to rotate it, a clamp comprising two members pivoted together and having portions formed to embrace said spindle, means for immovably fastening one member to the frame of the machine, and manually-operable means to cause said members to grip the spindle with sufficient force to overcome the frictional engagement between said belt and pulley, said means being constructed to maintain the grip of said members on the spindle While both hands of the operator are free to remove the boiling pad, whereby upon release of said clamp rotation of said pulley at normal velocity takes place imme diately.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES E. GRAHAM.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. HODDER, FREDERICK L. EDMANDs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

